Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hobbitinn
Ólafsbraut 19
T
436 1362.
Rather
charmless grill restaurant-cum-video store serving
burgers (from 660kr) and expensive pizzas (2620kr)
which is best used for a quick dine-and-dash experience;
there's a handful of stools inside should you choose to eat
in.
Mon-Thurs 10am-10pm, Fri 10am-11pm, Sat &
Sun 11.30am-11pm.
Hótel
W
hringhotels.is.
This rather average hotel has rooms
both with and without private facilities as well as a number
of apartments which include a small seating area as well as
a simple kitchen. The hotel restaurant serves dinner only:
5700kr will buy a three-course meal with fresh fish,
whereas 7400kr is the price for three set courses with lamb.
Closed Oct-April;
restaura
nt open June-Aug daily
6pm-late.
Doubles
19,800kr
Ólafsvík
Ólafsbraut
20
T
436
1650,
Hellissandur
From Ólafsvík, Route 574 continues west past the dramatic Harðikambur black-sand
beach on its way towards the minuscule fishing hamlet of
Rif
, really nothing more than
a well-protected harbour and a few fish-processing plants. Some 2km further on, its
marginally bigger neighbour,
HELLISSANDUR
, known locally as just Sandur, is the
westernmost settlement on Snæfellsnes and home to most of the fishermen from
nearby Rif. It's also the terminus for
buses
from Reykjavík and the starting point and
terminus of the clockwise summer service around the peninsula's tip. There's very little
to do in Hellissandur other than to pay a quick visit to the Sjómannagarður museum,
though the village makes a good base from which to tackle the various
hikes
around
western Snæfellsnes (see box, p.175).
3
Sjómannagarður
June to mid-Aug Tues-Fri 9.30am-noon & 1-6pm, Sat and Sun 1-6pm • 500kr
Beside the main road, Útnesvegur, two old
fishermen's cottages
, complete with turf
roofs, make up the
Sjómannagarður
(Maritime Museum). The larger of the two
buildings holds an assortment of elderly fishing equipment and the oldest rowing boat
in Iceland, dating from 1826.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
HELLISSANDUR
By bus
Buses from Hellissandur run daily back along
Snæfellsnes' north coast and then down via Vatnaheið to
Borgarnes and Reykjavík. In summer, buses also depart for
a clockwise circuit of the glacier via Ólafsvík and Arnarstapi.
Destinations
Borgarnes (1 daily; 2hr); Grundafjörður
(1 daily; 35min); Ólafsvík (1 daily; 10min); Reykjavík
(1 daily; 3hr 15min); Stykkishólmur (1 daily; 1hr10min).
Services
Hellissandur's skeletal facilities - most usefully
an ATM and fuel station - are located along the main road
Klettsbúð.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Campsite
Sandahraun
T
433 6929.
Hellissandur's
grassy campsite is beautifully located by an open meadow
on the eastern edge of the village, and has a service
buildi
ng with
hot water and showers. Closed Oct to mid-
May.
1000kr
Hótel Hellissandur
Klettsbúð 9
T
430 8600,
W
hotelhellissandur.is.
Upmarket hotel with just twenty
plainly decorated wood-panelled rooms offering agreeable
views out towards the glacier. There's a restaurant here,
too, serving a range of fresh fish for 1700kr at lunch and
3000kr f
for dinne
r.
Restaurant daily 11am-2pm &
6-9pm.
23,700kr
Ka
Sif
Klettsbúð 3
T
577 3430.
Set in the former
doctor's surgery, this compact little café is a real treat: try
the home-made fish gratin or
plokkfiskur
for 2300kr,
though the delicious crepes are also tempting. Owner Sif
also makes a wicked fish soup (1800kr).
Mon-Thurs & Sun
11am-10pm, Fri & Sat 11am-1am.
Dritvík and around
As you head west from Hellissandur, the horizon is dominated by the huge mast that
transmits the booming 189kHz long-wave signal for Icelandic national radio, anchored
down by wire cables against the brute force of Atlantic storms; the service is a lifeline
for many fishing vessels off the Icelandic west coast which rely on its detailed shipping
forecasts. Beyond this last sign of civilization the landscape becomes increasingly
